As borrowed from Yiddish, a mensch or mentsh [a] is "a person of integrity and honor". [2] American humorist Leo Rosten describes a mentsh as "someone to admire and emulate, someone of noble character. The key to being 'a real mensch' is nothing less than character, rectitude, dignity, a sense of what is right, responsible, decorous". [3] The term is used as a high compliment, implying the rarity and value of that individual's qualities.
In Yiddish, mentsh roughly means "a good person". [4] The word has migrated as a loanword into American English, in the original German spelling, with a mensch being a particularly good person, similar to a "stand-up guy", a person with the qualities one would hope for in a friend or trusted colleague. [5] Mentshlekhkeyt (Yiddish: מענטשלעכקייט; German: Menschlichkeit) refers to the properties which make a person a mensch.
During the Age of Enlightenment, in Germany the term Humanität, in the philosophical sense of compassion, was used in Humanism to describe what characterizes a better human being. The concept goes back to Cicero's humanitas , which was literally translated as Menschlichkeit in German, from which the Yiddish word mentsh derives.[ citation needed ]
The word Mensch and the underlying concept have had an impact on popular culture. The Mensch on a Bench is a 2012 Hanukkah-themed book and doll set parodying The Elf on the Shelf . A life-size version of the doll was adopted as the mascot of Team Israel at the World Baseball Classic in 2016. According to pitcher Gabe Cramer, "The Mensch is a great way to have fun in the dugout while reminding us of why we're here and who we're representing". [6]
In modern Hebrew and Yiddish, goy is a term for a gentile, a non-Jew. Through Yiddish, the word has been adopted into English also to mean "gentile", sometimes in a pejorative sense.
The word Yid, also known as the Y-word, is a Jewish ethnonym of Yiddish origin. It is used as an autonym within the Ashkenazi Jewish community, and also used as slang by European football fans, antisemites, and others. Its usage may be controversial in modern English language. It is not usually considered offensive when pronounced, the way Yiddish speakers say it, but some may deem the word offensive nonetheless. When pronounced by non-Jews, it is commonly intended as a pejorative term. It is used as a derogatory epithet by antisemites along with, and as an alternative to, the English word 'Jew'.
Leo Calvin Rosten was an American writer and humorist in the fields of scriptwriting, storywriting, journalism, and Yiddish lexicography.
Major League is a 1989 American sports comedy film produced by Chris Chesser and Irby Smith, written and directed by David S. Ward, that stars Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, James Gammon, Bob Uecker, Rene Russo, Margaret Whitton, Dennis Haysbert, and Corbin Bernsen.
Chutzpah is the quality of audacity, for good or for bad. A close English equivalent is sometimes "hubris". The word derives from the Hebrew ḥuṣpāh (חֻצְפָּה), meaning "insolence", "cheek" or "audacity". Thus, the original Yiddish word has a strongly negative connotation, but the form which entered English as a Yiddishism in American English has taken on a broader meaning, having been popularized through vernacular use in film, literature, and television. In American English the word is sometimes interpreted—particularly in business parlance—as meaning the amount of courage, mettle or ardor that an individual has.
Hebraism is a lexical item, usage or trait characteristic of the Hebrew language. By successive extension it is often applied to the Jewish people, their faith, national ideology or culture.
A tchotchke is a small bric-à-brac or miscellaneous item. The word has long been used by Jewish-Americans and in the regional speech of New York City and elsewhere. It is borrowed from Yiddish and is ultimately Slavic in origin.
Shiksa is an often disparaging term for a gentile woman or girl. The word, which is of Yiddish origin, has moved into English usage and some Hebrew usage, mostly in North American Jewish culture.
Yiddishkeit, also spelled Yiddishkeyt, is a term that can refer broadly to Judaism or specifically to forms of Orthodox Judaism when used particularly by religious and Orthodox Ashkenazi. In a more general sense, it has come to mean the "Jewishness" or "Jewish essence" of Ashkenazi Jews in general and the traditional Yiddish-speaking Jews of Eastern and Central Europe in particular.
Schmuck, or shmuck, is a pejorative term meaning one who is stupid or foolish, or an obnoxious, contemptible or detestable person. The word came into the English language from Yiddish, where it has similar pejorative meanings, but where its literal meaning is a vulgar term for a penis.
The Israel National Baseball Team represents Israel in international competitions. It is managed by Ian Kinsler.
Kike, also known as theK-word, is an ethnic slur directed at Jewish people. The etymological origin comes from the ancient Greek word for circle, κύκλος.
Yiddish words used in the English language include both words that have been assimilated into English – used by both Yiddish and English speakers – and many that have not. An English sentence that uses either may be described by some as Yinglish, though a secondary sense of the term describes the distinctive way certain Jews in English-speaking countries add many Yiddish words into their conversation, beyond general Yiddish words and phrases used by English speakers.
Cody Marshall Decker is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres in 2015. A right-handed power hitter, he played first base, third base, left field, and could catch.
Team Israel has competed in the World Baseball Classic since the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifier round. In 2017 Israel competed at a World Baseball Classic qualifier for the second time, and for the first time qualified for the main tournament.
Pool A of the first round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic was held at Gocheok Sky Dome, Seoul, South Korea from March 6 to 9, 2017, between Israel and the Netherlands and South Korea and Taiwan. Pool A was a round-robin tournament. Each team played the other three teams once, with the top two teams advancing to Pool E.
Yiddish cinema refers to the Yiddish language film industry which produced some 130 full-length motion pictures and 30 shorts during its heyday from 1911 and 1940. Yiddish film almost disappeared after World War II, due to the Holocaust and the linguistic acculturation of Jewish immigrants, though new pictures are still made sporadically.
The Mensch on a Bench is a Hanukkah-themed book and doll set created in 2012 by Neal Hoffman, inspired by a joke he had made about the 2005 book and doll The Elf on the Shelf. In 2013 the crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter for the marketing of the product started. The doll has appeared on Shark Tank, The Today Show, and The View.
Shmendrik, also rendered as schmendrick or shmendrick is a Yiddish word meaning a stupid person or a little hapless jerk. Its origin is the name of a clueless mama's boy played by Sigmund Mogulesko in an 1877 comedy Shmendrik, oder di komishe Chaseneh by Abraham Goldfaden. The play was inspired by a sketch presented by Mogulesco at an audition before Goldfaden. Since then the word was often used as a name in the works of Jewish humour.
